NightmareBeforeChristmasStuck
by Darklois69
Summary: Jack Skellington was walking through the woods one day, when he stumbled upon a new tree, with Trolls falling out of it! (completely my own thought processes, but I do not own Nightmare Before Christmas or Homestuck. please review and favorite if you like it. THANK YOU!)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

(3rd person limited, Jack's thoughts only)

It was the 10-year anniversary of the night Jack attempted to give Sandy Claws a "vacation," AKA the Christmas that almost wasn't. As Jack stood atop Spiral Hill in the midst of the snow, Sandy-er, Santa rode in his sleigh over Halloween Town after a long night of giving out presents to those who deserved them and coal (or some leftover presents from Jack) to those naughty children.

Every year as Santa headed home, he always brought some snow to Halloween Town for the residents there to celebrate for a night. This year though, Jack didn't feel the same as previous years; it felt as though something was amiss in the world of joy and screams. So, doing as a good Pumpkin King would do to protect his people, he went off to where he felt the trouble was coming from: The Hinterlands, home of the Holiday Trees.

He walked down Spiral Hill as it uncurled before him to lead to the woods. 'Time to start wandering around,' Jack thought as he entered the dense forest laid out in front of him.

A few hours later (maybe?) he discovered himself in a very familiar place, seeing as every year as the new year began all the Holiday Leaders gathered here to convene and prevent another holiday from being taken over or worse, destroyed entirely.

This time however, he was alone, which hadn't happened since he first discovered this place a little over a decade ago. 'Everything seems in order,' he thought. 'So why did-'

*CREAK, CREAK, CRACK*

The sudden sounds from the otherwise silent forest startled Jack, and he walked carefully toward the sound. Some distance away from the Halloween Tree he found the source of noise: a…new tree?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

(Same as Chap.1)

This was peculiar, strange, and some may even say scary! Jack had never heard of a new tree growing in the Hinterlands, nor had he heard of one growing so fast! This new tree wasn't like all the others, either; its bark was dark, almost black in color, its branches gnarled and twisting in on themselves, so many of them in fact, they nearly grew together in some places. The tree itself soon stopped growing, but something was beginning to take form on the side of the trunk facing Jack. It looked like a house, only in a lime green color. When the color seemed to harden, so to speak, a doorknob popped onto the door and Jack could hear words he had only ever heard when he was alive, and some he'd never heard at all.

The door opened, and the cursing got louder. "GOGDAMNIT, STRIDER! WHERE/WHEN IN THE HELL HAVE YOU LANDED US THIS FUCKING TIME?!" Out stepped what looked to be a grey skinned teenager with short, candy-corn horns dressed entirely in grey and black. He (Jack assumed by the voice the teen was male) was followed by a boy about his age wearing red head to toe, and a girl the same age covered in orange. The girl and boy seemed to be floating on air, almost, and as she talked, she appeared to be the one in charge.

"Karkat, must you always be so loud and use such profanity? I do not believe we are any-when, so I must ask as well. Dave, where have you taken us now?"

Jack decided that moment was good enough for him to introduce himself. "You're in the Hinterlands, and I am Jack Skellington, the King of Halloween Town!" he said with a bow. As he looked up he noticed the grey-skinned boy we now know as Karkat coming at him with a pair of sickles in just enough time to jump nimbly away, then noticed the boy in the red- Dave -had a broken sword in his hand as well, perhaps as backup in case Karkat's attacks failed.

The girl in orange put a hand on Dave's shoulder ad told him to 'get Karkat to calm down.' This resulted in Dave coming up behind Karkat and picking him up by his collar, dragging him off to another tree, and shoosh-paping him till he calmed down. Jack didn't understand what was going on entirely, but he tried to be a gracious host. "May I ask your names, please? It seems proper since you know mine now," he asked the girl kindly.

"Of course, sir. My name is Rose Lalonde, the boy who attacked you is Karkat Vantas, and the other boy is Dave Strider. I apologize for the way Karkat reacted, but we have no idea where we are nor how we came to be in this place," she explained.

"Well," Jack started, "as I said, you are in the Hinterlands. If you follow me, I can lead you three to my town and we can figure out I plan to get you all home."

"That sounds like a lovely idea, Jack. I'll go get the others," she said, and then went back into the tree trunk. The door stayed open for her, unlike the other holiday trees, which close after a few moments.

Seemingly calmed down, Karkat and Dave may their way back over to you and the tree. "I'M FUCKING SORRY FOR ATTACKING YOU. ARE YOU HAPPY NOW, STRIDER?"

"Eh, sure, for now," replyed the red-clad teenager. "I'm Dave, by the way, if Rose didn't already tell ya."

Just at that moment, Rose stepped out of the tree and out of the way just as a cat-girl pounced on Karkat, knocking them both over. A deep voice came from the tree calling, "D - Nepeta, please be more careful!" followed by the person whom Jack assumed the voice belonged to, and a woman with a long, red skirt on and horns, but not like Karkat's; hers were longer and her left horn was bent at the tip, while her other one was just straight.

Rose introduced them all, starting with the girl standing next to her in a red skirt, Kanaya Maryam; the cat-girl, Nepeta Leijon; and the strong-voiced individual, Equius Zahhak. The seven of them soon headed back towards the circle of Holiday Trees to the Halloween door, and Jack opened it.

"Don't worry, anyone. You'll most likely land in the cemetery near the outskirts of town, so wait until I land to start going anywhere," Jack said to the teens befuddled faces (and Karkat's questioning, "WHY THE FUCK IS HE OPENING A FUCKING DOOR INTO A TREE? AND WHERE THE FUCK ARE WE SUPPOSED TO GO?")

After a few moments of standing and Jack trying to tell them it was ok, Dave moved toward the open door with Karkat close behind him. They looked into the seemingly endless blackness, and, while Karkat was distracted, Dave "tripped" him and Karkat's screams of profanity and cursing Dave's name were heard for miles around. Dave jumped in after Karkat had fell for a few seconds, then Nepeta, Equius, and Kanaya jumped in. Rose lingered for a moment with Jack.

"Thank you for showing us this hospitality, Jack. I must apologize for their actions," she said sincerely.

"No worries, Rose. What kind of host would I be if I wasn't hospitable?" Jack asked. Rose nodded in agreement and floated into Halloween Town. Jack took one last look around the circle before jumping back home with his new guests.


End file.
